DTA’s Venaani out of leadership race

A RISING young politician from the DTA opposition party will not vie for any leadership post later this year when the party’s new central committee will be elected.

“My decision is based against the background of trying to unify the DTA party and not to allow fragmentation while we have to prepare for the 2009 national elections,” McHenry Venaani told reporters on Monday. “I shall continue to serve the party in my current capacities and all other added tasks assigned to me,” he added.His announcement comes barely one month after long-serving DTA stalwart Rudolf Kamburona resigned from the DTA, saying he wanted to concentrate on farming.Kamburona was a DTA MP from 1991 until 2000.Venaani on Monday denied a recent public statement made by a Kavango DTA member, Vincent Kanyetu, on the national radio service when he demanded that DTA president Katuutire Kaura step down.Kanyetu said he and other party members wanted Venaani to stand for DTA president.The DTA then issued a press release saying “the DTA cannot be used as a political ball game by those who think that they can get away with murder.Disciplinary steps will be taken against the culprits.”The move by the alleged DTA ‘Kavango rebels’ appears to stem from dissatisfaction among some members in the region with the DTA leadership.”I was unaware of that petition and I am not part of that,” Venaani said on Monday.He would not speak about party unity, but party sources told The Namibian that there was quite some campaigning for leadership posts going on in the background, combined with squabbles and mudslinging.Venaani became Namibia’s youngest Member of Parliament in 2003, at the age of 25.At 18, he became the youngest CC member of the DTA and he was elected Secretary General in 2002.In 2005 he challenged Kaura for the DTA presidency but lost, and he was not re-elected as Secretary General.Since then he has served as an ordinary MP for the DTA in the National Assembly.”I shall continue to serve the party in my current capacities and all other added tasks assigned to me,” he added.His announcement comes barely one month after long-serving DTA stalwart Rudolf Kamburona resigned from the DTA, saying he wanted to concentrate on farming.Kamburona was a DTA MP from 1991 until 2000.Venaani on Monday denied a recent public statement made by a Kavango DTA member, Vincent Kanyetu, on the national radio service when he demanded that DTA president Katuutire Kaura step down.Kanyetu said he and other party members wanted Venaani to stand for DTA president.The DTA then issued a press release saying “the DTA cannot be used as a political ball game by those who think that they can get away with murder.Disciplinary steps will be taken against the culprits.”The move by the alleged DTA ‘Kavango rebels’ appears to stem from dissatisfaction among some members in the region with the DTA leadership.”I was unaware of that petition and I am not part of that,” Venaani said on Monday.He would not speak about party unity, but party sources told The Namibian that there was quite some campaigning for leadership posts going on in the background, combined with squabbles and mudslinging.Venaani became Namibia’s youngest Member of Parliament in 2003, at the age of 25.At 18, he became the youngest CC member of the DTA and he was elected Secretary General in 2002.In 2005 he challenged Kaura for the DTA presidency but lost, and he was not re-elected as Secretary General.Since then he has served as an ordinary MP for the DTA in the National Assembly.